Slidable rack for ovens and the like



De 24, 19 s. H. HOBSON I 2,225,991

SLIDABLE RACK FOR OVENS AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 7, 1938 Patented Dec. 24, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Geo. D. Roper Corporatlo poration of Illinois 11, Rockford, 111., a, cor- Application November 7, 1938, Serial No. 239,253

2 Claims.

sooner or later means breakage due to the amount of load imposed upon the fingers when a heavily laden rack is slid to an extreme extended position, exerting considerable leverage upon the fingers. It is therefore the principal object of my invention to provide a rack ofwelded wire construction in which the fingers are'provided by integral extensions on the ends of the rear cross-member of the frame of the rack and whereinthe welded connections are subjected to compression instead of tension when the rack is extended and load is imposed upon the fingers, whereby to eliminate danger of breakage of the fingers and provide generally a much stronger and more 'durable construction.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a horizontal section through an oven showing in plan view a slidable rack made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, -showing in the same section a portion of another rack in fully extended-position and raised so as to permit withdrawal from the oven;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional detail illustrating the last named rack prior to the raising thereof, as it appears when extended as far as it will Fig. 4 is a sectional detail on the same scale as Fig. 3, but in a transverse plane, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the same rear corner of the rack.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

In Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral i designates the oven of a gas range in which are provided horizontal ledges I on the opposite sides thereof in vertically spaced parallel relation for the support of slidable racks indicated generally by the numeral 8. It is desired to have these racks supported against tilting when pulled out to an extended position so that the housewife can inspect the food being prepared in the oven; without having to remove utensils, and so that there will be no danger of burning the hands and dropping or spilling anything. Slidable racks also facilitate. the placing of articles in the oven so that the oven can be used to its full capacity without dlfiiculty. 5 It is also desired to have the racks quickly andeasily removable so that they may be placed at difleren-t elevations inthe oven and can be readily cleaned, and it is also desired to definitely limit the outward sliding movement of the racks so 10 that there will be no danger of accidentally withdrawing a rack off its supporting ledges; The stop projections 9 on the bottoms of the ledges 1 come into abutment with fingers III on the racks for the latter purpose, the fingers moving along 15 thennder side of the ledges both to provide sup port against tilting when the racks are extended and to serve as stops to limit outward movement. Generally speaking, it'is old to provide outwardly extending fingers for the purpose stated and to have the same located in rearwardly spaced relation to the rear edges ll of the rack on which the rack fulrums when raised, as shown in Fig, 2, whereby to permit the fingers ID to pass under the stop\ rejections 9 so that the rack can be 5 removed and replaced without interference with the stop projections. As above indicated, this invention while illustrated as applied to a gas stove may be used in electric stoves also, and, in fact, in any compartments wherever slidable shelves are used, as, for example, in refrigerators. The racks, in accordance with my invention, are of welded wire construction, each comprising a wire frame I2 of heavier wirewith lighter wires l3 disposed transversely with'respect thereto and welded in place at the ends and also at the middle where a cross-member H is provided to lend stiffness and rigidity. 'The wire frame I2 is made up from a substantially U-shaped piece I! providing a cross-portion I0, at one end of the .rack and side portions. I I andQlB along opposite sides thereof,, the latter having inwardly bent end portions I9 and 20 projecting under the sidemost cross-wires l3 and welded thereto, as indi-. cated at 2|. The frame is completed by a rear 5 cross-member 22 of wire preferably of the same I gauge as the U-shaped framemember l5 and spanning the tops of the rearwardly projecting end portions 23 of the sidemost cross-wires I 3 and welded thereto, as indicated at 24. The op-- posite ends ofthe cross-member 22 are bent downwardly, as at 25, and laterally, as at 26, to provide theiflngers III on the end portions of the cross-member 22;

With this construction, it is clear that since u placing the welded joints 2| and 24 under compression instead of tension, so'that there is no danger whatever of any of the wires tearing loose.

It is believed the foregoing description con-.

veys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn with a view to covering all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. As an article of manufacture, a rack comprising a frame having a front member and spaced side members with transverse end portions projecting inwardly at the rear toward each other, and an end member in rigid relation to the frame and in transverse relation to said side members and disposed adjacent said end por tions, and'cross-pieces on said frame substantially parallel to the frame side members, the rear end portions of said cross-pieces extending crosswise relative to the transverse end portions of said side members and certain of said crosspieces being secured on top thereof, said end member having the rear extremities of the crosspieces disposed under and in transverse relation to the same, the extremities of said end member being formed to provide integral downwardly and outwardly projecting fingers below the plane of the end portions of said side members, and the front end portions of said cross-pieces being supported by said front member.

2. As an article of manufacture, a rack comprising a U-shaped frame member the crossportion of which forms the front member of the frame and the arms of whi h form the side members of the frame, said side members having the rear end portions thereof bent inwardly toward one another, cross-members extending from front to rear of the frame, all being secured at their front ends in transverse relation to the front member of the frame and some of said members extending over the inwardly bent end portions of the side members and being secured thereto, and a rear frame member in rigid relation to the U-shaped frame member and superimposed on the rear ends of the cross-members in transverse relation thereto, the opposite end portions of said rear frame member being disposed adjacent the inwardly bent end portions of the'side members and having the ends thereof bent downwardly and outwardly to provide fingers in a plane below and spaced relative to the side members.

STANLEY H. HOBSON. 

